RFE/RL NEWSLINE
Vol. 1, No. 190, 7 January 1998
HUNGARIAN TV PRESIDENT DISMISSED. The board of
trustees overseeing Hungarian State Television dismissed
HTV president Istvan Petak on 6 January, saying he had
continuously breached the media law and mishandled funds,
Hungarian media reported. The board has named vice
president Lorant Horvath as acting president and asked the
prosecutor-general to launch an investigation into Petak's
mishandling of funds. Petak and opposition officials claim
that the decision was politically motivated and that "certain
[government] circles" want to gain an information monopoly
on television. MSZ
HUNGARIAN OFFICIAL REJECTS 'NEW YORK TIMES'
ALLEGATIONS. Security Services Minister Istvan Nikolits has
rejected allegations by "The New York Times" in its 5
January issue that former communist countries invited to
join NATO pose security problems because their intelligence
officers previously worked for the KGB, Hungarian media
reported the next day. Nikolits said the report gives a false
impression of Hungary's national security staff, stressing
that the secret service has been "considerably renewed"
since the end of communism. He did not deny, however, that
officers from the previous regime still work for the services,
explaining that security interests do not allow all personnel
to be changed. MSZ
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